Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $500.00 price objective on the software giant’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.46% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $415.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $432.56 and its 200 day moving average is $424.88. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.